Day 17 - Back to Namche Bazarr

Unfortunately even the rice seems to have been a bit aggressive so I have another very poor night. I decide to head back to Namche today hoping that the more luxurious surroundings will be better for me. From memory, the trek isn't too bad so even in my current state I should be ok on the route. 

The cook sensibly won't take no for an answer to his offer of breakfast and makes me eat an appropriately bland noodle soup before I head off at about 08:30 - although my pack is a bit heavier than I anticipated at just under 20kg as I need to be self-sufficient for the next few days.

This carries me through the first couple of hours and the steep ups and downs past Pangboche up to Tangboche - I am feeling pretty good and make pretty good time - less than 2/3 of what our guide suggested without pushing it at all. However at that point everything seems to give way and the rest of the walk including quite a few steep hills becomes really rather difficult. I have no energy at all really; my ears, nose and throat all start to play up and rather then benefitting from the lower altitude I am continually short of breath (not struggling to breathe more that my breathing doesn't seen to do much good) which is a bit of a mystery as I am walking at well below the altitude I am acclimatised to and the uphills become a real challenge. I have a few, bland muesli bars and I decide to chance my stomach as this can't go on. Marvellously, they seem to kick in just as I reach the top of the final hill (about two hours after I eat them!) only leaving the half hour or so of flattish traverse to Namche. There is still time to have an encounter with a yak (who seems to be offended when I overtake it after it has passed me struggling up a hill earlier on) who stages a mini charge and his tossing horns very narrowly miss my chest and rucksack as I jump to the side and away up the hill. 

Namche is on a steep hill and the final few hundred metres to the teahouse (despite being downhill) are pretty painful as there is nothing left in my legs at all. After settling in, I pop out to find some wifi and catch up with people and the world, then back for some tomato soup (the only food I can stomach) and then an early (7pm) bed. Luckily I have a couple of days to recover before the rest of the group arrives and we head on down to Lukla and our flight back to Kathmandu. 

I wonder how much of my troubles, especially my breathing difficulties comes from the the fact that I am severely dehydrated. When I get to Namche I drink 4 litres of water in the afternoon and have soup and a coke before bed - all of which leads to only one small and very dark brown pee just before going to bed. 

This expedition has been rather bi-polar so far. Most days have been very relaxed and easy except for the summit of Island Peak and then today which were both really rather difficult. Although I suppose I could have gone a lot slower on both and found then much less of a struggle - but then that's not me really.